


Not the Same

by TiedyedTrickster



Series: I am Hogyoku [4]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen, Renji being observant, minor character study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-02 23:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8688478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiedyedTrickster/pseuds/TiedyedTrickster
Summary: It is the common opinion of Soul Society that Rukia and Hogyoku are almost identical. It is the personal opinion of Renji that they're not looking closely enough.





	

People say Rukia and Hogyoku are identical, because Hogyoku’s body was Rukia’s gigai, so other than the pale eyes and white hair, they’re alike as two peas in a pod, but Renji knows better.

Beyond the hair and eyes, Hogyoku is simply paler than Rukia – its skin makes her look positively rosy by comparison. Its face is rounder, too, with wider eyes even when Rukia’s not using that look the Kuchikis taught her.

Under the guidance of her adopted family Rukia learned to make her face a mask that concealed everything, but even before that Rukia was fairly reserved in regards to what her face gave away; she hides her emotions in her eyes. There had been a time when Renji could read her eyes better than any book, but it’s a skill that faded over their many years of separation (though one he’s picking up again with gratifying speed). Hogyoku, in turn, is animated and expressive, rarely bothering to hide anything. It frowns deeply and laughs loudly and, even when it tries to hide its frequent mirth, its eyes dance with blue-violet fire, and it has to hold its hands to its mouth to hide the smile there. Honestly, Renji’s still finding it a little unnerving to see such vivid expressions on a face so similar to Rukia’s.

It’s more than just appearance, though. For all that she’s been taught to be tidy about it now, Rukia still eats very swiftly, a tell to those who know to look for it of her Rukongai childhood, where food was scarce and had to be eaten before it was (re)stolen. In contrast, Hogyoku is very slow about eating – it doesn’t technically need to and has only had the ability for a short time, so it really savors each morsel it consumes.

And, for all that it has a zanpakuto (and what a zanpakuto!), and knows how to use it, Hogyoku is an inelegant swordsman, lacking the grace Rukia instinctively carries herself with. Perhaps it’s not fair to judge it on this, since Hogyoku is still very young in many ways, and maybe it will grow into grace, but it’s always been amazing to watch Rukia move. Even when they were brats, even before they were friends, Renji was always impressed at the way the tiny girl could move.

There’s countless other details that have changed as well – small differences, things you’d only be able to notice if you know Rukia like Renji. If you love her like he does…

“I don’t get it,” Ichigo complains one day as they take a break from sparring.

Renji looks in the direction Ichigo’s facing in time to see Rukia turn away sharply, pretending like she hasn’t been watching them from where she’s doing paperwork under a tree (the weather being so nice and Aizen’s defeat being so recent, everyone’s being a little less… strict about certain rules lately). Hogyoku, in contrast, beams and waves at them, its clothes a bright contrast to the darker tones Rukia prefers, then goes back to sticking little flowers in its master’s hair. Renji turns back to Ichigo, and the guy’s turned out to be a better person than he’d first thought, so his tone is more civil than it might once have been. “What don’t you get?”

“Those two,” Ichigo gestures at the two women, “Everyone’s always going on about how they’re like inverse mirror images of each other or something, but they’re not _that_ similar. They’re more like Karin and Yuzu than identical twins. I thought you shinigami were supposed to be observant.”

And that’s the moment Renji realizes that Ichigo loves Rukia, too. It’s also the moment he realizes that that’s okay. Because if Ichigo’s noticed this when the rest of Soul Society’s missed it… he obviously loves Rukia as much as Renji does. And Rukia deserves to be loved – for all that she’s been through, for all that she is, she deserves to be loved like that, seen like that, no matter who she choses in the end.

So Renji just grins at Ichigo, pushing his headband higher up on his forehead. “I know what you mean.”

And across the courtyard, Hogyoku watches and smiles as a little more of the remaining animosity between the two men crumbles and falls away unnoticed, and a quiet dream shared in three hearts begins to grow that much brighter for it.

**Author's Note:**

> I know it’s not canon – honestly, the end!ships for canon surprised me, I was expecting it to wind up Rukia/Ichigo, and I was rather pleased at the surprise (and especially at those two kids, gods, it’s like each of them combines all the cutest aspects of their parents)! Nevertheless, this is my little pet Bleach poly!ship, so naturally it got slipped in here.


End file.
